OUR LEFT-BRAIN DOMINANT culture, always in a hurry, perpetuates the modern perception of insufficient time. Instead of living in sync with nature’s slower rhythms, we measure time in minutes and seconds, burning the midnight oil rather than sleeping under the light of the moon. We worry things will fall apart should we slow down. …

By hurrying, we get ahead of ourselves and begin to live into the worries and “”what ifs”" of tomorrow. However, the here and now remains all we have with which to make something beautiful of our life for God. Each sterling moment presents the raw material of our days. If we miss the present moment by rushing through the day, we cannot recapture it. The gift of each day is often squandered in a hurry.

- Karla M. Kincannon
Creativity and Divine Surprise

From pages 84-85 of Creativity and Divine Surprise: Finding the Place of Your Resurrection by Karla M. Kincannon. Copyright © 2005 by Karla M. Kincannon. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Do you find it easy or difficult to slow down? Share your thoughts.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
John 14:26, NRSV

This Week: pray for those who feel forgotten. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

Need a Spiritual Retreat? Join us at SOULfeast, the Upper Room’s spiritual retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, July 14-18, 2013. Come discover how, as the Holy Spirit washes over us, this powerful presence brings us alive to God, community, transformation, and missions in the here and now. For more information, visit soulfeast.upperroom.org.

This week we remember:
John the Silent. (May 13).

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

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